Good news! As mayor, it is my pleasure to let you know that Anchorage is the tenth-best city in which to live in the United States, according to Businessweek.com. The online business publication recently announced its first-ever 50 Best Cities rankings based on economic conditions and quality of life issues, like low crime rates and access to higher education, among others.

According to the website,Anchorage received its high ranking partially because of the high number of parkland acres per person, as well as the best air quality. The announcement also mentions Anchorage's relatively low unemployment, a high median income, and a low rate of foreclosures.

With assistance from Bloomberg Rankings, Businessweek.com evaluated 100 of the country's largest cities based on 16 total criteria, which include: the number of restaurants, bars, and museums per capita; the number of colleges, libraries, and professional sports teams; the income, poverty, unemployment, crime, and foreclosure rates; percent of population with bachelor's degrees, public school performance, park acres per 1,000 residents, and air quality. Greater weighting was placed on amenities such as parks, bars, restaurants, and museums, and on educational attainment, school performance, poverty, and air quality. The data came from the U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Sperling's BestPlaces, GreatSchools, Onboard Informatics, RealtyTrac, and the Trust for Public Land.

Of course, this is no surprise to those of us who call Anchorage home. We all know that our city is a great place in which to live, work and play.